1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of computer performance maximization. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method of providing portable auxiliary power to a handheld computer.
2. Related Art
Electronic systems and circuits have made a significant contribution towards the advancement of modern society and are utilized in a number of applications to achieve advantageous results. Numerous electronic technologies such as digital computers, calculators, audio devices, video equipment, and telephone systems facilitate increased productivity and cost reduction in analyzing and communicating data, ideas and trends in most areas of business, science, education and entertainment. Electronic systems designed to produce these results typically consume energy and power supplies for devices such as a portable handheld computer are often limited.
As the components required to build an electronic system have reduced in size, new categories of systems have emerged. For example, one new category of computer systems is the hand held or xe2x80x9cpalmtopxe2x80x9d computer system. A palmtop computer system is a computer that is small enough to be held in the hand of a user and can be xe2x80x9cpalm-sized.xe2x80x9d One of the primary advantages of a palmtop computer is mobility. The convenient portable size permits a user to utilize a hand held computer for a variety of activities at a number of remote locations and traveling between locations. However, access to power supplies (e.g., standard outlets that deliver utility power) for utilizing or recharging the handheld computer are often not available at a remote location or when traveling between locations.
Electronic systems such as hand held computers typically consume power at varying rates when performing different tasks and accurately forecasting energy consumption is usually difficult. Hand held computers typically perform a wide range of information manipulation and computation functions. One very popular type hand held computer is personal digital assistants (PDAs) that are typically used to implement various personal information management (PIM) applications such as an address book, a daily organizer and electronic notepads, to name a few. Numerous processor based electronic systems such as hand held computers operate at differing power requirements or ranges. For example, a handheld computer (such as a Palm V Connector Organizer) performing Personal Information Management (PIM) tasks may require a processor to operate at a level of one Million Instructions Per Second (MIPS) while running User Interface tasks and a radio communication protocol stack simultaneously may require a processor to operate at five to ten MIPS. Another example of differing processing levels is a V.90 modem that requires approximately twice as may comparable processing cycles per unit of time (e.g., per second) as a modem which implements a slower V.34 protocol. The nature and variety of operations performed by a typical hand held computer make it difficult to accurately predict when a limited power supply will be depleted.
The compactness of a hand held computer usually limits the size of its own self contained power supply. The power source often comprises a relatively small internal battery with a limited life and restricted ability to provide energy. Limited energy resources are typically consumed very fast when a handheld computer is performing at maximum levels. Energy consumption in a handheld computer is often critical to the utility of a portable device, as limited power resources are consumed the shorter duration a portable device is able to remain mobile and operate longer away from a fixed power source. A user has to make more frequent trips to a recharging source (e.g., standard wall outlet) decreasing the convenience of portable operation. Relatively frequent and continuous trips to a fixed power source are required when a handheld computer is utilized to perform for extended periods of time, removing many of the benefits of a portable unit.
What is required is a system and method that facilitates extended portable use of a handheld computer. The system and method should assist a portable hand held computer to remain mobile longer and operate away from a fixed power source for greater periods of time.
The present invention is a system and method that facilitates extended portable use of a handheld computer. A portable auxiliary power source system and method of the present invention assists a portable hand held computer to remain mobile longer and operate unconnected from a fixed power source for greater periods of time. The portable auxiliary power source system and method facilitates recharging of hand held computer nonremovable batteries. In one exemplary implementation of the presented invention the portable auxiliary power source system utilizes an off the self removable battery as an energy supply.
A present invention portable auxiliary power source system is mobile and accommodates energy resources that are easily replenished. In one embodiment a portable auxiliary power source system comprises a battery compartment, coupling component and electrical interface. The battery compartment holds a energy source such as battery. The coupling component is adapted to couple with a handheld computer. The electrical interface is adapted to provide a communications port for communicating electrical signals from the portable auxiliary power source system to a handheld computer. In one exemplary implementation of the present invention the battery compartment includes terminal tabs comprising electrically conductive material (e.g., copper) adapted to contact a battery terminal and provide an electrical path for electrical charges along wiring to the electrical interface. The electrical interface comprises ports of electrically conductive material configured to provide a path for conveying electrical charges to a hand held computer. In one exemplary implementation the battery compartment is an easily accessible compartment adapted to hold an off the self removable battery.